Chance Encounter
by aragornwen
Summary: When Arienn diKirri boarded the EasyRide that morning, she hardly suspected that she'd be sharing it with a clone trooper...


Arienn diKirri slid into the empty seat beside her friend Merith and sent up a silent prayer of gratitude. Usually the EasyRide was packed with commuters, tourists, and the like, but the two were earlier than usual, Merith having needed to talk to her sentientology professor before class. Ari settled her shoulder bag more comfortably on her lap and started to dig out the holozine she'd bought yesterday, stealing a glance at her friend. Merith had her earphones in and had closed her eyes, nodding to an inaudible beat. _She must've gotten the new Umari Crion single after all_. Ari went back to rummaging through her bag. Nanobio holotext, spare sheets of flimsi, last week's notes over the Mandalorian Wars- _So _that's_ where they'd gotten to_- but no 'zine. She sighed, annoyed. She thought she'd put it in her bag last night, but could she have left it on the table? No use asking Merith, either, not if she was listening to Umari Crion.

Ari sighed, hoping that it wasn't going to be _one of those days_, and looked around, resigning herself to a particularly uninteresting ride to class. She fidgeted with her University of Coruscant student ID on its lanyard, staring vacantly at the advertisement above the opposite seat. An elaborately coiffed humanoid- she couldn't tell which sex- extolled the virtues of Luray's Hair Salon, 230th floor, Uhuru Building, Fobosi District.

_Hair._ She released her ID to peer cross-eyed at the end of her braid. Split ends, just as she'd suspected. So much for that new shampoo…

Her musings were interrupted by the hissing whoosh of the doors opening at a new stop. A few business-suited commuters, clutching disposable cups of caf or important-looking cases, a family of tourists, possibly Corellians, an older man with a leather jacket and a slight limp, and- Her eyes widened and she tried not to stare, although it was hard to resist. She'd _seen_ them before, of course; everyone had, but seldom in anything but news footage, and never this close. Gleaming white armor, twin blasters, and a brilliant red shoulderplate she assumed must be some kind of badge of rank- so this was a clone trooper in the flesh, or at least the plastoid, or whatever that armor was made from. It made an imposing sight.

Ari prodded Merith, who removed one earpiece with an annoyed "What?" Ari pointed silently, careful to keep her hand behind the seat in front of them. Merith's mouth fell open, and both girls watched the trooper file on and take the seat next to the older man in the leather jacket, a few rows ahead.

"Well," Merith whispered. "He's certainly- quite tall."

"Mmm," Ari replied distractedly. Her fingers itched for a sketchpad; the shining white and red armor formed an oddly compelling counterpoint to the slightly dingy transport. She glanced at the man sitting beside the clone, and was surprised to see him lean over and murmur something to the impassive helmet.

"They _know_ each other?" Merith hissed in her ear.

"Apparently," Ari whispered back, as the clone fiddled with something at the neck of the armor and slipped off the helmet. Ari's jaw dropped. Whatever she had been expecting, and even she wasn't exactly sure, it hadn't been _that_.

"Oh no, they're _human_!" the Corellian tourist whispered, louder than he had meant to, she was sure. "And they're so _young_."

Young was right. The smooth dark face under its wavy thatch of black hair couldn't have been any older than she was.

"He's _hot_!" Merith breathed quietly, grinning. Ari elbowed her exasperatedly as the man in the jacket spoke.

"No sir, the war isn't droids fighting droids." The man seemed just to be talking to the embarrassed-looking tourist, but Ari got the sense that he was addressing the entire car. "May I introduce Captain Ordo?"

Everyone in the car watched intently as the clone- Ordo- nodded politely and shook the tourist's hand.

"My pleasure, sir." He had the same slight accent as the man beside him. _Father and son?_ She wasn't sure. Did clones _have_ families? And Captain Ordo- she took a slight thrill from rolling the unfamiliar name across her tongue- was nearly a head taller than the other man, even sitting down. And even sitting, he kept his spine perfectly straight, the helmet in his lap, his shoulders made even wider by the red pauldron.

Ari watched him for the rest of the ride, fascinated. Merith had gone back to her music, losing interest after a few minutes.

A cool electronic voice announced their stop, and Ordo shifted in his seat. For one wild moment, Ari thought he was getting off too- but no. She sighed, feeling strangely let down, and prodded Merith. As the two girls shuffled down the center aisle, Ari glanced suddenly back to where he was sitting, catching his eyes. On a sudden impulse, she mouthed _Thank you_ and had the gratification of having him incline his head slightly to her, his dark eyes puzzled.

Merith nudged her in the back, and she hurried off the EasyRide, cheeks slightly pink from her daring. Merith raised a skeptical eyebrow at her. "And just what was that about?"

Ari shrugged, digging through her shoulder bag as an excuse to avoid eye contact. "I just thought… Nobody ever thanks them, do they? Nobody ever really thinks about it. They're just… there. Like maintenance droids, or sidewalks. Maybe that protest group had a point after all..."

Merith gave her a sideways look. "What protest group? And you think too much. Come on, we'll be late."

"The one that camped out on the Senate steps-" Ari began, but Merith, already hurrying away, wasn't listening. Ari frowned impatiently, glancing back, but the transport had already pulled away. She sighed and rushed after her friend, mind racing over what she had seen.


End file.
